Helicopter Parents
Parents Who Do Too Much
Helicopter parents are people who are way too involved in the academic development of their offspring. They pick their children's colleges as well as their majors. They even hound professors about test scores and tag along to job fairs to hand out resumes (which they also wrote), etc.
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Oversized Houses
The War On Mortgage Deductions
Environmentalists despise the mortgage deduction that homeowners can take on their federal income taxes because they feel that it encourages people to buy bigger houses. I happen to enjoy the concept of being able to keep “more” of my own money in my pocket instead of giving it to Washington DC.
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Teen Gambling
Parents and Texas Hold-em Poker
Is the explosive growth of Texas Hold-em Poker destroying our country’s teenagers? Or are their parents too neglectful or too fainthearted to exercise enough parental guidance and oversight? But more to the point, where is a kid getting all of his money to feed his never ending habit for gambling?
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Drinking Equality
Girls now Drink as Much as Guys
Women have always demanded equality but unfortunately, they are getting it in a counter-productive way. Recent studies indicate that teenage girls and college age women are now quickly catching up to the alcohol consumption of males. This development is creating very negative and even dangerous results.
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Foiled Abduction
Garbage Men Help Teenager
Society always has a misperception about poverty in that poor people were in a lower social class. And that lower status had all kinds of negative connotations and a stigma attached to it. However, three courageous sanitation workers helped dispel that myth by foiling the abduction of a teenage girl.
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Mother Stands By Son
Despite Aiming Gun At Police
Debra Murtagh adamantly stands by her son Michael Anthony McCracken, despite the fact that he pointed a MAK-90 assault rifle at a police officer. This mother insists that the sole reason her son carries around the semi-automatic weapon while walking down a neighborhood sidewalk is for protection.
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Avoiding Poverty
Four Simple Rules to Follow
Poverty and homelessness is awful although there is a very simple way to escape it even if you were born in the ghetto or in the barrio. Researchers have developed a four step plan that has a 95 percent chance of avoiding poverty but it involves exercising plenty of personal responsibility and good judgment.
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Hack-a-Shaq
Is This Tactic Unfair?
When the San Antonio Spurs eliminated the Phoenix Suns from the 2008 playoffs, many sports analysts were furious. The Spurs employed the Hack-a-Shaq against Shaquille O’Neal with devastating impact. As a result, many people demanded that the NBA change the rules. So is there any merit to this complaint?
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Punish Junkies?
Sympathy for Drug Addicts
There is a tendency to view those who abuse drugs as victims instead of as criminals. Addicts definitely do need treatment but buying drugs is still very much a criminal act because it invites criminals and the criminal element into your neighborhood which makes it unsafe for you and your family.
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Emergence of Tweens
Kids Growing Up Too Fast?
Some kids between ages 8 and 12 are beginning to talk and act like teenagers; like going out on real dates, having a laptop, cell phone, iPod, and a raunchy MySpace account. And many of them are doing pretty much the same stuff that teenagers are already doing in high school, just at an earlier pre-teen age.
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Spring Break Bust
Kids Are Now Partying Abroad
Spring break has always been synonymous with drunkenness and debauchery. And for many popular spring break destinations, the municipalities that hosted them didn’t mind how wild it had become as long as it brought in millions of dollars to their local economies. But then some cities grew tired of these kids.
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Urban Sprawl Rules
Inner Cities Continue Decline
For those who loathe urban sprawl, the news has been dismal. According to a Harvard University study based from 1995 to 2003, about half of the country's 82 largest municipalities lost jobs. And in sharp contrast during the same period, just one surrounding suburban metropolitan area lost any jobs.
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Banning Toy Guns
Laws That Go Way Too Far
The Public Safety Committee of Dallas Texas proposed an ordinance to ban the sale of toy guns that appear too realistic. They even suggest banning children who play with toy guns. Unfortunately, when such measures go extreme, just about anything can be considered a violation of the law.
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Teenage Jobs
One Foot in the Real World
A part-time job for a teenager is a great way for a kid to put his or her foot in the real world while still living at home. Although some adolescents may sneer at taking a minimum wage job, a lot of kids don’t mind it. However, there are a few things that parents must explain to their children about these jobs.
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Traffic and Scooters
Are Parent’s Responsible?
Some people worry about kids recklessly riding their motor scooters in heavy traffic. My local newspaper did a little bit of research and shockingly discovered that the responsibility of the personal safety of children out on the streets actually belongs to the parents instead of the police or the city. Imagine that!
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I Am Not A Role Model
The Wisdom of Charles Barkley
I am not a role model... parents should be role models.
Basketball superstar Charles Barkley sparked a sensation when he uttered that classic phrase. His numerous critics and quite a few parents were shocked by his apparent disregard of the millions of kids that idolized him.
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Strings Attached
Verifying the Need for Welfare
Now here is a radical idea. Suppose someone applies for welfare and the government verifies the need actually exists. If so, then the money is doled out within two weeks. However, if an applicant refuses to allow his or her economic situation to be verified, then benefits are automatically denied.
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Background Screening
What’s In Your Record?
Out of fear of potential lawsuits, more employers are doing background checks on all applicants. The Internet and the plethora of new databases, such searches are not only becoming commonplace, but they are now fairly easy to acquire and even cheap to purchase. But just how accurate are such background checks?
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Reckless Teenager
But What About the Parents?
In a horrific traffic accident, the driver who was a 17 year old high school senior and his 14 year old sister and her 15 year old friend tragically died. However, the teenage driver just got his license back after a 90 day suspension because of a DUI charge. Now should this kid have been driving in the first place?
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Escaping Poverty
But Still Using Public Housing
The purpose of entitlement programs is to provide assistance to those who are in dire need. But what if in the course of time the financial position of those same needy people improves? What should the recipients of government assistance do and what should be the response of the administering agencies?
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Driving Drunk Again
Repeat Offenders Back on the Streets
Drunk drivers who are repeat offenders driving on our streets is often a common staple of local media reports. And even when their driver’s licenses are revoked, they still manage to end up back behind the wheel. And that is because our overcrowded prisons only have room for the hardened violent criminals.
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Medicare Fraud
The Problem of Bogus Billing
As with so many other welfare programs, Medicare fraud is out of control. This entitlement program has a staggering mandate to cover 43 million senior citizens and disabled Americans which opens itself up to a lot of filching. So just how big of a problem is Medicare fraud? A whopping 60 billion dollars a year.
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Modern Poverty
What It Means To Be Poor
Although one cannot say that poor people have it easy, most of them living in today’s environment definitely have it so much better than the poor of previous generations. In fact, compared to how people lived during the Great Depression, the poor of today would probably be considered to be well off.
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Smoking and Parenting
Activists Invade Your House
In the beginning, anti-smoking legislation was necessary, especially in closed confined spaces where you could not avoid second-hand smoke. But the activists couldn’t stop there. New intrusive restrictions are beginning to spring up like on what you can and cannot do inside your own house.
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Girl Takes Life
Bad Parenting Becomes Lethal
Do more parents need to grow up? Lori Drew was 47 years old when her daughter was upset with another girl. This mother decided to help her daughter retaliate by making up a bogus MySpace account in an attempt to deceive and bully this girl online. Unfortunately, the harassment worked too well.
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The War on Food
How Evil is that Cheeseburger?
The war on food has begun. Activists have now declared war on what we eat as obesity becomes the next trendy crusade. And the activists plan to tax it to death or completely prohibit it. But first of all, how do you define obesity? And what about personal freedom and responsibility when it comes to food?
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Scantily Clad Cheerleaders
The Swimsuit Issue of the NBA
The Detroit Pistons are marketing a swimsuit calendar that they will only sell to fans who are 18 and older with a photo ID. But if the photo spread only contains “artistic” and “tasteful” pictures and if they don’t look “sleazy” or “cheap”, then what would be wrong with little kids looking at it?
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Doing Good Deeds
But Helping the Wrong People
There are plenty of well-meaning people who have donated money or who have stretched out a helping hand only to realize that the people they are assisting may not really need it. The reason is because the definition of poor has taken on a very broad meaning in today’s modern society.
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Hurricane Laziness
Katrina Didn’t Teach Us A Lesson
The media provided wall to wall news coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. So everybody who lives on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts should be aware that hurricanes are dangerous and they should be fully prepared for them and be ready to flee when one is coming their way. Wrong! Surveys show otherwise.
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Blue Collar Sports
What Money Did to Sports
Being a devoted sports fan in this day and age can be very expensive especially if you want to see the games in person. In the past, professional sports used to be a cheap form of entertainment that was available to everyone. Today, ticket prices have gone through the roof. What happened?
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Fix Traffic Lights
The Oil Crisis and Traffic
Many urban areas throughout the country experience the agony of wasting time and expensive gas because of poor city planning that result in needlessly waiting for lights to turn green. But the oil crisis is changing that. Some cities are finally modifying their traffic lights to ease congestion.
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Drug Testing Kids
Academy of Pediatrics Hates It
The American Academy of Pediatrics, in updating its policy of drug testing minors by parents and school officials, has come down firmly against the practice. About the only thing that they do suggest is for a concerned parent to take their child to their primary care physician. They just don't like parents meddling.
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Hotel Squatters
Katrina Freeloaders
Theon Johnson didn’t want to leave his hotel room, especially since he wasn’t paying for it and because of New York City’s generous squatters’ rights laws, he didn’t have to. It would have to take a court order from a judge to force Johnson to leave his double bed room because he had been living in it for over 30 days.
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Leaving the Big City
Millions Flee Metropolitan Areas
For more than a decade people have fled the nation’s largest cities. Higher cost of living and expensive housing are forcing employers to find cheaper sites elsewhere which is contributing to the decline of large metropolitan areas. In addition, the exurbs, the places beyond the fringes of suburbs have also exploded in growth.
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MySpace Problems
But What About The Parents?
Why is there so much pressure by critics to force MySpace to be more secure? Is it because they want the social networking site to better protect minors who like to post pictures of themselves in their bra and panties? If that is indeed the case, then the obvious question is where are the parents in this controversy?
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Parental Bartenders
Providing Alcohol to Children
There are lots of people who believe that they should be given the “parent of the year” award because they have purchased several hundred dollars of beer and hard liquor for their teenage children and provided the use of their house or other property for a party for all of their teenage friends.
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Ungrateful Rescues
Driving Through Flooded Roads
During a heavy rainfall, cities put up barricades to stop traffic at low water crossings as fast as they can. Even though a road may be flooded, some people still drive around a barricade. And worse, some folks are very ungrateful even after they are rescued from a dangerous situation.
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Picture Show
Teens Circulate Explicit Photos
In the era of “Girls Gone Wild” it is commonplace for young adult women to plaster naked pictures of themselves on social networking sites such as MySpace. People are going to do whatever they want to do because we live in a free society. However, a dilemma arises when minors choose to imitate adults.
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Paramedics Arrive
But Delay Administering Care
There has been a violent crime such as a shooting or stabbing which results in someone with serious life-threatening injuries. An ambulance pulls up but paramedics refuse to administer emergency care even though the situation needs immediate attention. However, there is a reason.
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Wild Celebrities
Paris Hilton is not a Role Model
Paris Hilton is not a role model. And an “all night partying heiress” is not a job title. Even so there are millions of girls and young adult women who cannot get enough of the antics of Paris Hilton and her panty-less cohorts like Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan. Society has become obsessed with the exploits of celebrities.
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Banning Junk Food
The Onerous War on Obesity
As an ethical consideration, people ought to eat healthy meals because that is the right thing to do. However, it is the very concept of individual freedom and personal responsibility that irks and frightens food activists. If people cannot make the right decision, they want the government to make it for you.
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Hannah Montana
Is Miley Cyrus a Role Model?
In the smut world we live in which includes the likes of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsey Lohan, parents are going hog wild over Hannah Montana actress Miley Cyrus. But why does our society have such an obsession of finding rich celebrities to be role models for our children?
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My Son is Not an Animal
Despite Beating His Girlfriend
John Henry Cervantes threw a brick into his girlfriend's car window and shattered another window with his bare fist. He then beat up his girlfriend while she was holding their one year old son. Next, he is killed after he attacks the arriving police. However, his mother claims that her son is not an animal and didn't have to die.
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Pop Quiz
The Bad Behavior of Celebrities
What do Lindsey Lohan, Britney Spears, and Paris Hilton all have in common? This is not a trick question although for some people, the answer may be kind of tricky. And no, it has nothing to do with celebrities flashing their panties (or lack thereof), drunk driving, getting arrested, or spending time in jail or in rehab.
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Going Panty-less
Britney Spears is not a Role Model
I cringe every time people show concern over the antics of celebrities and about the impact they can have over impressionable youngsters. These rich, glamorous celebrities who already behave in a reckless fashion really have nothing of substance to offer as guidance to ordinary people except for entertainment.
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Basketball Blues
Did the Spurs Ruin the NBA?
Many critics claim that the San Antonio Spurs have ruined professional basketball by winning too many championships. They point to plunging television ratings during their playoff and championship runs which are bound to get worse if the Spurs continue winning. But what exactly is this crime that the Spurs committed?
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Hiring Strippers
The Duke Lacrosse Accusations
You can severely reduce your chances of having a false accusation of rape leveled against you if you don't hire strange women to come to your house and take their clothes off for money. Also, you can severely reduce your chances of being raped if you do not go to strange men's houses and take your clothes off for money. Read Article

The Naked Truth
Nude Recreation Declining
The American Association for Nude Recreation (AANR) is now facing the naked truth. Its declining membership is becoming increasingly older without much prospect of recruiting younger nudists. College age students and people under thirty simply don't want to get naked with them.
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Low Water Crossings
Who is to Blame for Tragedies?
Who is responsible when someone is tragically killed while crossing a flooded road that the city has yet to place a barricade at? The City? The driver?
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